Size

A lot of posts focus on the obvious need for more scoring but does anyone else think we are too small to win in the playoffs?

The Caps series made it standout even more because they are big, but even when it was the Ranger delivering the hit, it was often the Ranger who ended up on his ass. This is a general theme that should help on both ends of the ice.

In the defensive end their were a couple of times in this series (and all year long) where a forward would deliver a check that did not do much to stall or separate the opposition from the puck, and then he is on the ice and an open player scores.

In the offensive end we simply dont win many of the battles that lead to scoring opportunities (one of the most underrated parts of Avery's game).

I think the smurf line back during the islander glory days proved that size isn't the be all and end all. It helps but its just one of many factors.

The NHL is a lot different now than it was then. Players are bigger and even with the rule changes since the lockout, there isn't as much room on the ice as there was back then.

Smaller players can still be successful, but if you can have a bigger player with the same production, then that's a bonus.

I'm not really worried about our size. Our only small players are Gomez, Drury, Avery and Callahan, but both Avery and Callahan play bigger. We may lose Antropov and/or Zherdev, but we've got some good size coming up in the next year or two with Anisimov, Byers and Grachev.

If anything I would want to trade Gomez or Drury for the cap savings, with the added bonus of maybe filling their spot with a bigger body.

what are the chances byers gets a call up - how much did his performance this past season with the pack demonstrate he was ready/deserving/able?

He was believed to be close this year, but didn't get a spot most likely because there just was no room. He hurt his knee early in the season and only came back just before the playoffs.

With the number of UFA/RFAs we have this year, he could see time next year as a 3rd/4th line player. He's got decent hands and is pretty good in front of the net, but I'd say has limited offensive potential at the NHL level. Still, he's big and plays an aggressive game. He can fight too, though not as well as Orr.

Sign Bertuzzi for about 1.5-2 mil he adds size and can play the game and who knows him and naslund might mesh again

I would not be too opposed to that. Hopefully he can continue to get lean(he lost something like 20 pounds this past off-season) so his back problems don't continue. I think he's a very underrated passer and could work well with Drury or Dubinsky. He would definitely add some size/grit to our top six at VERY CHEAP- I mean, you give the guy two million(like you said) and he puts up 50 points.. not bad at all.

yes size can be an issue. But hey Avery plays the wall much better than Voros. So yes size is important, but u have to kno how to use your size. A guy like Antropov is big and uses his size to his advantage. Same goes for a lot of players we used to have who would play the cycle and boards game strong, Jagr, Hossa etc. Anyways significant size does take a toll, but again its how u use it.

I would not be too opposed to that. Hopefully he can continue to get lean(he lost something like 20 pounds this past off-season) so his back problems don't continue. I think he's a very underrated passer and could work well with Drury or Dubinsky. He would definitely add some size/grit to our top six at VERY CHEAP- I mean, you give the guy two million(like you said) and he puts up 50 points.. not bad at all.

yea he made 1,950,000 this season and he was one of the flames best players in the playoffs (from my perspective) and i see him and dubi working well together. we'd probably be the most hated team in the nhl but nothing new there